Celebrity watch: Fiona Apple arrested for pot

Sierra Blanca, Texas, is the place where discerning celebrities go to get arrested for possession of marijuana.

All the best ones do. The tiny border town has welcomed Armand Hammer, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and their pot in the past.

Hey, it gets their names in the newspapers. No such thing as bad publicity and all that.

Now, it’s Fiona Apple. The singer-songwriter was arrested for hashish possession at the West Texas town after a Border Patrol drug-sniffing dog detected marijuana in her tour bus.

Sierra Blanca Sheriff's office spokesman Rusty Flemming says the artist spent Wednesday night at the Hudspeth County jail and would be bonded out Thursday.

Fleming says Apple “had a little tiny amount of pot and hash.” Fleming says marijuana possession in small amounts is a misdemeanor, but hashish in any quantity is a felony in Texas.

The Sierra Blanca check point inspects thousands of vehicles daily, even those of celebrities, and sends the town thousands of drug cases yearly.

Judge rejects

A judge Thursday rejected a plea from an actress who says she was duped into appearing in “Innocence of Muslims” and wanted the trailer for the film taken down on YouTube.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin turned down the request from Cindy Lee Garcia, who appears in the trailer, in part because the man behind it was not served with a copy of the lawsuit. Also, Garcia wasn't able to produce any agreement she had with filmmakers, Lavin said.

Garcia said in the lawsuit that she thought she would be appearing in an ancient Egyptian adventure film.

The judge also cited a federal law that protects third parties – that would be YouTube – from liability for content they handle.

“That leaves really little to support your application,” he said to Garcia's lawyer, Cris Armenta.

The judge's ruling means the 14-minute trailer for the film, which has been blamed for sparking deadly violence and political gaffs, can continue to inflame public opinion and created havoc worldwide, oh boy.

Spears’ skin

The stuff that lands in our in-box …sheesh.

In our email today a subject heading grabbed our wandering attention: “EXPERT COMMENTARY: BRITNEY SPEARS PSORIASIS?”

Naturally, we had to read it.

“Britney Spears is 'suffering with psoriasis,' as the star recently revealed scaly skin on her leg,” a certain Ghazal informed us.

The email included a photo of Britney’s leg, standing upon some gala carpet somewhere. Said leg had scales on it.

“Need commentary from a dermatology?”(sic), Ghazal queried. She or he could hook us up.

Thanks, Ghazal, but no thanks. We’ve got important celebrity news to report.

Lohan surveillance

Speaking of which … New York police released grainy black-and-white surveillance footage showing an encounter between Lindsay Lohan and a pedestrian who says she clipped him while driving outside a New York City nightclub and then drove away.

It didn’t show much but, hey, Lindsay’s in it.

The footage, released Thursday, is blurred to protect the identities of witnesses standing near Lohan's Porsche outside the nightclub at the Dream Hotel in Manhattan.

The footage shows Lohan's car turn toward the crowd, but the blurriness obscures what restaurant worker Jose Rodriguez says was the car hitting him. The car drives off as Rodriguez chases it. Police say the Jersey City, N.J., resident suffered a knee injury.

Lohan was arrested later on charges of leaving the scene of an accident and causing injury. She was given a ticket. Her publicist says the injury claims are false.

Letterman digs

David Letterman is reassuring Mitt Romney that he doesn't hate him – and getting in a dig at Jay Leno in the process.

The Republican presidential candidate said in a private speech to donors made public this week that Letterman “hates me because I've been on Leno more than him.”

Letterman said on the “Late Show” Wednesday that Romney and his wife are welcome on his CBS late-night show. Romney has been on three times but hasn't made any appearances since he became GOP nominee. President Barack Obama was on Letterman on Tuesday.

Letterman says he certainly doesn't hate Romney for going on Leno's NBC show.

“I mean, why hate a guy who's suffered through that?”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.